There is a rush to get an agreement and
legislation in the next few weeks to provide
millions of dollars to destroy the dams,
give land and money to the tribes,
permanently downsize ag, and possibly get
affordable power rates to irrigators.
Contact your representatives with your
opinions!

*
FYI:
Klamath Tribe's Constitution: "...B. It shall be the policy of
the Klamath Tribes to seek the return, to the
Klamath Tribes, of all lands, natural and
cultural resources, including minerals and water
rights that become available and which were
historically a part of the Klamath Tribes
heritage C. All waters which originate
in or flow through the Klamath Tribes
jurisdiction, or which are stored within the
Klamath Tribes jurisdiction, whether found on
the surface or underground, are a valuable
Tribal resource of the Klamath Tribes, and are
to be protected for the present and future use
of the Klamath Tribes..."

Upper Basin water: Talk or litigate? Which? Let's
talk, by Randall Kizer for H&N
5/21/17. "The
Wood River’s bank are full of water and, yet, the
valley’s irrigators are shut off due to a call of
(Klamath) tribal instream water rights...We agreed
to just about everything the Tribes demanded...upper
basin landowners have agreed to retire thousands of
acres of irrigated land and built thousands of feet
of fencing along streams, rivers and creeks...The
Tribes are angry. They were promised funds for
economic development, land in the Mazama Forest and
dam removal in the KBRA..."

(Klamath) Tribes call for agreement termination,
H&N 5/18/17.
"At
a minimum, Gentry said any framework for a
settlement proposal must adequately address treaty
resource reintroduction, restoration and protection
resulting in sustainable and harvestable treaty
resources that will support the meaningful exercise
of treaty rights. 'This must include return of
homelands and co-management of land and resources
that affect treaty resources...' "

Tribal chairman defends water call, H&N
4/30/17.
"Ranchers in the upper basin have criticized the
call, claiming they will have a short window to irrigate
and water their cattle this spring, and they have no
water available the rest of the summer. Some believe
this call could put them out of business....“We're just
asking for justice,” Gentry said. “We're just trying to
hang onto what has been reserved by treaty despite what
has happened to us..."

OWRD responds to Tribes' call on (Klamath) water,
H&N, 4/28/17. "I’m
very disappointed that this call has been initiated by
the Klamath Tribes and validated by the Oregon Water
Resources Department at a time when our rivers are
literally running over their banks,” (State Rep. E.
Werner) Reschke said in a statement. “This decision
negatively impacts farmers and ranchers up and down the
basin and defies conventional logic. Oregonians lose
when we allow one group to exercise exorbitant control
over the rights of others..."

Tribes Issue Water Claim, Ranchers Fear the Worst,
H&N 4/23/17.
"In
April 2014, ranchers and the Tribes signed the Upper
Basin Comprehensive Agreement. The ranchers agreed to
retire 18,000 acres of land or 30,000 acre feet of water
and do riparian repair work on the rivers in exchange
for an allotment of water each year…At
the end of February, the Tribes indicated to the
ranchers they wanted to terminate the agreement..."

Water call should send message Basin needs a real
answer, Area needs congressional help for a long-term
plan, H&N View, 4/23/17. "...The
local community should accept the fact that an overall
settlement isn’t going to happen without a land
settlement with the Tribes. Yes, land for water. Accept
it and move on..." KBC
ANALYSIS: H&N got it right...it's not about fish,
it's "land for water". Tribes sold reservation. Tribes
will call on irrigation water (like happening in this
flood year) until they can get their land given back to
them again, and the Klamath hydroelectric dams
destroyed. Some call it 'blackmail.'

Klamath Basin water year looks promising,
H&N, 4/12/17. "...It’s looking
like there will be full deliveries of water to
the Klamath Basin water users...As of April 1,
the snowpack was 122 percent of average and the
total precipitation was 139 percent of average,
the bureau said... 'Collaboration has been a
successful model for solving problems in the
Klamath Basin and biological opinion
consultation should not be an exception to
that.' ...

The Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive
Agreement, by Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett,
posted to KBC 5/16/14: "Many farm and
ranch owners... were advised that most who
refused to sign would no longer be allowed
to use either their surface or groundwater
rights in most years. Many of those water
rights date to 1864 priority. They were
further advised that those who refused to
participate would likely be subject to
severe ...."

Threats (by Klamath tribal members) delay
tribal meeting, H&N 5/16/14. "...some
Klamath Tribes members have been campaigning
to organize a hostile takeover of the
meeting. Threats included chaining and
padlocking doors to force the Tribal Council
and meeting attendees to remove Gentry from
the council and to overturn the results of a
recent referendum vote. The referendum vote
under attack was certified by the Klamath
Tribes election board as in-favor of a water
settlement, known as the Proposed Upper
Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement,
between the Tribes and upper Basin
irrigators." KBC NOTE: Upper
Basin irrigators were not allowed a vote;
they were only blackmailed as explained in
Senator Doug Whitsett's newsletter.

Freedom of speech is key when talking
irrigation, by Bruce Topham, Sprague
River letter to H&N, posted to KBC 4/15/14.
"This
is what is currently beingdemanded
of those of us who are ranchers in the north
half of Klamath County. A foreign sovereign
government (aka the Klamath Tribes) is
requiring that for any water settlement to
be met for irrigation or drinking water for
our livestock we must surrender our right as
Americans to express any opinions contrary
to those advocated by the Klamath Tribes..."

Klamath Tribes approve water pact, H&N,
posted to KBC 4/15/14. "A $40 million
economic development package for the
Tribes...the Tribes also would receive $1
million a year for five years from DOI to
care for tribal transition needs this year."

Freedom of speech is key when talking irrigation, by Bruce
Topham, Sprague River letter to H&N, posted to KBC 4/9/14. "This
is what is currently beingdemanded of those of us who
are ranchers in the north half of Klamath County. A foreign
sovereign government (aka the Klamath Tribes) is requiring that
for any water settlement to be met for irrigation or drinking
water for our livestock we must surrender our right as Americans
to express any opinions contrary to those advocated by the
Klamath Tribes..."

AUDIO - Dr. Mike Newton and Senator Doug
Whitsett, begin minute 30, I-Spy Radio
4/8/14, on Science of Upper Klamath Basin
ranchers being denied surface and ground
water with no proof of interference to
stream water, yet studies support that
groundwater use enhances stream flow. What
is the government's excuse? KBC NOTE:
If the Upper Basin irrigator does not agree
with the Kitzhaber Task Force plan, they
will be denied surface and groundwater to
irrigate.

Klamath Upper Basin Proposed Settlement, by Erika Bentsen, March 20, 2014,
Western Ag Reporter. "On March 4, 2014,
the Proposed Upper Klamath Basin Comprehensive Agreement was
finally revealed to the public after six months of closed door
meetings with the settlement negotiators kept under strict gag
orders...the wording is such that NOTHING promised to the
ranchers is concrete...45 million dollars will go to the Klamath
tribes to help them be "self-sufficient."...There are provisions
included for taxpayers (who were not included in these private
meetings) to purchase timberland for the tribes to replace the
reservation they sold. In addition, there is a jobs program
(Section 2.6) exclusively for the tribes "related to
implementing this Agreement in the Off-Project Area," which can
be interpreted to read that tribal members might be paid to
monitor or enforce regulation on the privately owned land in the
valley...If the landowner is found at fault, he must pay their
expenses, and there is specific wording allowing the tribes to
go after the landowner themselves... Ranchers feel they are
being punished for doing nothing more than buying the land when
the tribes sold it and continuing to irrigate it like the tribes
were doing when they owned it. Unfortunately, since the state
and federal government have openly aligned themselves with a
sovereign nation against its citizenship, the ranchers have no
place to appeal regarding this injustice..." KBC NOTE: KBC News was told
by several Upper Klamath irrigators that they were told, in
closed meetings denying any media or tape recorders, that they
would be prohibited from using their personal irrigation wells
if they refused to sigh this "voluntary agreement."

Historic water pact; Tribes,
irrigators settle divisive issues. $40
million will be given to the Klamath Tribes
to create jobs,
H&N 3/6/14. Includes schedule of meetings.
"The
Klamath Tribes will be allotted $40 million
to establish an economic development plan
and revitalize regional industry, including
taking ownership of the 92,000-acre Mazama
Forest as a condition of the KBRA. The Tribe
also will receive $1 million annually from
the Department of the Interior for a
five-year period...Once a landowner has
agreed to permanently retire rights, the
government will have discretion whether to
purchase the right or not....Tribal members
will vote whether or not to accept the
agreement...no general vote will be held to
approve the pact (for non-tribal members)."

Ranchers, tribes reach deal on Klamath
Water, Redding Record Searchlight
3/5/14. "Ranchers face an even tougher
year this year, because with drought
continuing and another irrigation shut-off
likely, many no longer have any cattle to
sell, added rancher Andrea Rabe"

Klamath Water Settlement deadline missed,
H&N 2/14/14. "If
approved by the Klamath Tribal Council and a
host of irrigators, the AIP will become one
component of the proposed legislation that
will cover the upper Basin; the Klamath
Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) including
Klamath Reclamation Project irrigators and
the Klamath Hydro Settlement Agreement with
PacifiCorp, which may involve removing four
hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River."

< Oregon
Senator Doug Whitsett and Rep. Gail Whitsett
Science of shutoffs,
well water monitoring law aims to clarify
ownership,
H&N 2/7/14. “We
fully support the OWRD authority to regulate
wells that are materially interfering with
senior water rights. However, we believe the
state should be required to prove that the
use of irrigation wells is materially and
measurably harming a water right holder with
a superior priority date,” Gail Whitsett
said."

Lawmakers hear (Klamath) water pact update,Rep. McLane
reviews Cover
Oregon, LaMalfa votes
against omnibus bill,
H&N 1/24/14. "If
approved by the Klamath Tribal Council and a
host of irrigators, the AIP will become one
component of proposed legislation that will
cover the upper Basin, the Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement (KBRA) including
on-project irrigators, and the Klamath Hydro
Settlement Agreement with PacifiCorp, which
may involve removing four hydroelectric dams
on the Klamath River..."(Rep. Whitsett) said
OWRD has listed more than 200 groundwater
irrigation wells that may be shut off if the
Tribes, which have time immemorial rights,
make a call on the water."

Upper Basin water pact deadline this Friday. Groups near final
agreement; next step is bill for Congress, H&N 1/14/14. "Some
landowner participation is expected through reduction of
agricultural water use by 30,000 acre feet. The reduction will
be in the form of permanent buyouts, or “retirement,” of some
upper Basin irrigators’ water rights along the Williamson, Wood
and Sprague rivers...the tribes said they will reduce the
minimum level of water they require in rivers above the lake to
protect fisheries in return for participation by landowners in
riparian area restoration. "

2013 a costly year for Upper Basin
ranchers, H&N 1/2/14.
"Like
other Upper Basin ranchers, Duarte’s
water was shut off this year ... when
the Klamath Tribes and Klamath Project
irrigators made calls for water in early
June. That meant all the Upper Basin
ranches went without irrigation water
this summer. 'We’ve
got a $90,000 hole in our account this
year...' "

Water
issues will likely dominate session work, Senator Doug Whitsett, posted
to KBC 12/31/13. "The Oregon
Water Resources Department has made clear its intentions in 2014 to shut
down as many as 130 irrigation wells due to alleged interference with
surface water rights...."

KWUA, officials review pact, H&N, 12/14/13."Conditions of the AIP include reducing
agricultural water use by 30,000 acre feet through permanent buy out, or
“retirement,” of some upper Basin irrigators’ water rights.Jerry Jones, who owns 20 acres in the
upper Basin, said irrigators who are not in desperate financial straits are
unlikely to sell their water rights or vote in favor of the AIP. 'Not
everybody has a gun to their head. It’s not going to work,' he said."KBC NOTE: according to
the last Task Force meeting, the permanent downsizing of water rights is
"voluntary." However, if they do not agree to the terms of the KBRA/dam
removal/tribal land acquisition mandate, then they probably will continue to
have their off-project water shut off like they did this year.

Task force work winds down; Power costs left unresolved Basin water dispute close to settlement. Deal between Tribes, irrigators key to legislation
H&N, 12/4/13. "initial estimates for the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) delivering inexpensive power to off-project users may not be as cost effective as planned....“We do not have and will not have this worked out for a year or two before we know exactly what the final solution will be,” he said...the tribe also hopes to acquire a 92,000 acre Mazama tree farm for economic development, which would be funded by the proposed congressional legislation. Early last summer, the tribe called for its water right, forcing the shutoff of hundreds of water users in the upper Basin. About 100,000 acre feet of water was shut off. The economic impact of that was estimated to be up to $500 million annually..."

Klamath County Water Crisis by Heather
Smith Thomas, Western Montana Water Rights, posted to KBC 11/23/13.
"One of the most devastating government
“takings” in the history of the U.S. is in
progress in Klamath County, Oregon. This
movement to get farmers and ranchers off
their privately owned lands has been brewing
for many years but came to a head after a
sequence of events this spring and summer
shut off long-time water rights and deprived
landowners of their ability to irrigate or
water their livestock."

(Klamath)
Racism and Land Theft, Oregon-Style, by Erika Bentsen, posted to KBC
8/28/13. "What does this mean to the future of Klamath
County? Are tribal members going to be the only ones allowed to
own land? Now that irrigation is taken out of production,
property values are plummeting. But only tribal members will be
compensated; all others will be bankrupted. Who gets the land
next? Will the tribes buy it for pennies on the dollar? Then
what? Will the water in the rivers no longer be called, like it
was before the tribes sold the reservation?"

Science
of (Klamath) fish mortality should be challenged, by Jerry Jones,
Chiloquin H&N, posted to KBC 8/28/13. "Most
of the summer is gone with no resumption of water deliveries to Upper Basin
irrigators...The state and federal governments conspired with the tribes to
create this problem and destroy the opposition to the Klamath Basin
Restoration Agreement..."

Latest
Klamath water crisis continues century of conflict, Capital Press,
posted to KBC 8/23/13. "Nathan Jackson, a Cow Creek Indian who manages
his family's ranch near Bonanza in Klamath County... said...the Klamath
Tribes have "asked for an unreasonable amount of water to support their
hunting and fishing rights." He said the quantity of the tribes' water call
is "decimating the entire industry in the Klamath Basin.' "

Klamath Falls Mess: Judge denies livestock access to water,Western Montana Water
Rights, and also Western Ag Reporter, by Erika Bentsen,
posted to KBC 8/13/13. "The tribes and government, hiding
behind the skirts of the KBRA, successfully divided the
community by pitting farmer against rancher, and neighbor
against neighbor. The government and tribes learned from their
original failure when only one group was attacked. By dangling
incentives to some, they splintered their opposition...If these
tribal claims are validated by the court system, no river in the
country is safe..."

* The Oregon
Water Resources Department is no longer a friend of agriculture. 8/1/13.
"More
than 250 water users holding Allottee and Walton water rights dating to 1864
are being forced to turn off their irrigation water...The Department’s final
determination gave the Tribes such a huge amount of water that virtually no
additional water will be available for irrigation in a normal year..."

<Klamath Water Crisis, by
Dani Nichols, posted to KBC 7/22/13. "...Here
are the basics: the Klamath Tribes and the environmental activists have
teamed up to starve farmers and ranchers out of the Klamath Basin, because
of the lives of the supposedly endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake,
and the Coho Salmon of the Klamath River. Because the tribes have been in
the Klamath Basin since “time immemorial”, a judge recently ruled that their
water rights supersede those of the Klamath County Agriculturalists. What
are the tribes doing with these newfound rights? Turning off water to
agriculture, the main industry of Klamath County (plus a threat to refuse
multi-use water to Crater Lake National Park, the only National Park in
Oregon and a revenue generator of more than $30 million for Klamath county
and the surrounding area last year) and letting thousands of gallons of
economic and cultural force drain to the ocean instead..."

Upper Basin water
shut-off newsletter by Brandan Topham, posted to KBC 7/12/13. "The
day after the rally we were in district court in front of Judge Wogan,
asking for a stay so that we can resume irrigating while this is fought in
court. It was a bit demoralizing when a person goes into the courtroom and
there are 3 lawyers trying to help agriculture and there are 16 lawyers
from the tribes and government fighting very hard to keep the water turned
off. .."

4th of July 2013. Today we remember our roots,
the fight for freedom, the blessings of that freedom. 3 days ago, many of
those who fought in foreign wars for that freedom, then spent the rest of
their lives growing food for a hungry world, stood on the steps of the
Klamath County Courthouse pleading for the freedom to continue to farm and
ranch as our government took away their irrigation water. This short short
video helps tell their story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpBwZuxfukI -
* KLAMATH WATER RALLY
July 1, 2013 Short YouTube slide show

KBC
News 7/3/13 - On Monday nearly 1000 farmers, ranchers, and concerned
citizens came together to plead for water for 114,000 acres of land
supporting cattle, pasture and alfalfa. The original
order prohibited farmers and ranchers to use water for human consumption and
livestock watering.Some ranches have been in the families since
the mid 1800's. The blackmail was, if the off Project irrigators would sign
an agreement,
The
KBRA,
further downsizing irrigated agriculture and gifting land to the Klamath
Tribes, then the Tribes would not shut off their water which they claim will
produce more suckers. The vast majority of the communities oppose this
"agreement" in which they were allowed no input.
100,000 acres of Off-
Project Ag land have already been taken out
of production.

Crater Lake shutoff
possible, H&N 6/30/13.
"Any impacts to Crater Lake could be far-reaching economically. In 2011,
visitors contributed $34.6 million to nearby communities, said Jeff Olson,
National Park Service spokesman, and 549 area jobs were supported...Calls
for water were made June 10 by the most senior water rights holders: Klamath
Project farmers and the Klamath Tribes."

Klamath Tribes: Support the KBRA in exchange for water talks, Capital
Press 6/20/13. "The leader of the Klamath Tribes told a U.S. Senate
committee June 20 that ranchers facing water shutoffs in the Upper Klamath
Basin would have to agree to provisions of a three-year-old basin
restoration agreement to negotiate more water from the tribes." KBC
Note:
Klamath Tribe is presently denying irrigation water to off-Project
Klamath irrigators supposedly for the sacred sucker fish. However, if
the irrigators agree to supporting the KBRA (which destroys 4 hydro dams on
the Klamath River, gifts land to the tribes that they previously sold to
build a sovereign land base, destroys a fish hatchery producing millions of
salmon, and downsizes agriculture), then the tribe will allow off Project
irrigators to discuss terms to get their water back.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to
those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this
information for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml